The house will be in order. This year, cspan celebrates 45 years of covering Congress Like none other. Since 1979, we have been your primary source for capitol hill, providing balanced, unfiltered coverage of government, taking you to where the policies are debated and decided, all with the support of americas cable companies. Cspan, 45 years and counting, powered by cable. Up next, acting labor secretary julie su testifying on her departments 25 budget request. The proposal totals 13. 9 Million Dollars and focuses on creating pathways to good jobs and protecting workers. She has served as acting secretary since march 2023. She is still waiting to be confirmed as labor secretary over a year after President Biden first nominated her. This house education and Workforce Committee hearing is three and a half hours. Dr. Foxx the committee on education in the workforce will come to order. I note that a quorum is present. Without objection, the chair is authorized to call a recess at any time. Acting secretary su, i know Vice President harris has lobbied hard to drop the appellation acting from your title. But i am afraid only a vote of the full senate can grant you that promotion. This is something they have rightly not seen fit to do. The day marks the 417th consecutive day in which you have led the department of labor, the dol, as acting secretary without the constitutionally required advice and consent of the senate. In effectively abrogating the Senate Nomination process, the Biden Administration has treated the constitution as but a footnote. That is unacceptable. In fact, you are now the longestserving acting secretary since before the u. S. Civil war. A record that was best left unbroken. As we examine the Biden Administrations fiscal year 2025 budget request for dol, it is important to keep that in mind. These unprecedented times demand the strictest possible scrutiny. To begin with, the fy 2025 dol budget requests an increase to 14. 2 billion in Discretionary Spending to support the work of more than 15,600 bureaucrats. By work, i mean showing up in person just five days over a two week span, as is dols official policy. Moreover, as the old saying goes, the budget is not just a collection of numbers. The budget is a statement of priorities. An overzealous regulatory action has been a blatant priority of the Biden Administration. The fy 2025 dol budget asks of the average american, invest in the davisbacon role which will make federal Construction Projects more unaffordable. Invest in the overtime rule, which will force employers to cut hours. Invest in the independent contractor rule, which will bankrupt freelancers across the country. Invest in the fiduciary rule, which will limit options for individuals to invest in their own financial future. And invest in an expansion of dols power over apprenticeships, which will decimate the role of states and further handcuff employers. While the Biden Administration likes to misuse the word invest, americans see what it really means a tax on workers and business in terms of both time and money. Money and effort that rightfully belong to the taxpayer alone. The priorities pursued by this administration are detrimental to american workers, job creators, and taxpayers, the very people dol should be serving. Instead, dol regulations have served the interests of Big Labor Union bosses. That the administration would install an acting secretary to carry out what i see as a very radical vision raises serious concerns for this committee. Dont take my word for it. American views of the bidensu economy have soured in poll after poll. Pew Research Finds that 26 of the electorate rates Economic Conditions as excellent or good, while 73 regards them as just fair or poor. 22 believe they are better off than they were four years ago, compared to 52 who believe they are worse off. The American People cite inflation, cost of living, and a lack of good paying jobs as their top three concerns. In other words, when it comes to your record, the American People arent buying what you are selling. I see at least three underlying Economic Conditions that explain why. First, americans are being crushed under the weight of inflation. Groceries cost over 25 more than when biden took office, and the real medium wages havent kept pace. Second, the mirage of job growth is also subsidized by gains in the public sector. It hasnt escaped my notice that over the last two months, the bureau of labor statistics reported that employment growth in the government sector was second only to growth in the Health Care Sector. In march, the Health Care Sector edged out the government sector by only about 1000 jobs. In 2023, nearly 25 of added jobs were government positions, which inevitably will be paid for by private sector jobs. Third, job growth can be exclusively attributed to foreignborn workers. Foreignborn workers have gained nearly 4 million jobs over prepandemic levels. Conversely, nativeborn workers are still down over one million jobs since the beginning of the pandemic. Republicans will unleash the american economy. We will curb reckless spending, promote growth and innovation, cut through regulatory red tape, and create more opportunities in skills development. Thank you, and i yield to the Ranking Member for an opening statement. Mr. Scott thank you. Thank you, dr. Foxx. Acting secretary su, good morning. I think it is important to note that your service as acting secretary has been verified as constitutionally proper by the Government Accountability office. So, theres no question as to whether or not you are serving consistent with the constitution. So, welcome back. It is great to have you up here before us on may day, a day in which people from all over the world can come together and recognize the importance of the Labor Movement. Under your leadership, the department of labor has invested in registered opportunities for job seekers and championed a proworker regulatory agenda that includes protecting mine workers from silica dust, expanding overtime protections for millions of workers, ensuring that workers receive retirement investments, and retirement Investment Advice that is in their best interests. The department has also worked with the Biden Administration to repeal the harmful restrictions imposed by the Previous Administration that allowed unscrupulous employers to misclassify workers as independent contractors, which would deny them the benefits of being an employee, such as minimum wage, overtime, Workers Compensation, unemployment compensation, osha protections, health and pension benefits enjoyed by other employees, just to name a few. And i also know you are working on Self Insurance for the black lung disease program. Since President Biden took office, more than 12. 2 million jobs have been created. This historic economic progress is indicative of Congressional Democrats and the administrations commitment to supporting workers, businesses, and families. A perfect example of our commitment is when Congressional Democrats and President Biden saved the pensions of over one million retirees by saving the multi employer pension funds. We also saved tens of thousands of businesses from going under. Those businesses were legally obligated to pay into the failing funds until the businesses went broke. We saved them, too. As a reminder, not a single Congressional Republican voted in favor of this fix, even though the cost of the fix was less than we calculated we were on the hook for in future expenses. In stark contrast, House Republicans have prioritized policies that undermine workers and supported destructive budget cuts at the department of labor. Today, we will hear Committee Republicans continue to attempt to discredit our economys performance under President Biden and your leadership. For example, the Record Number of jobs. They consider that bad economy. Under the Previous Administration, worst Job Performance in almost 100 years. And they praise that as good economy. You cant make it up. You have to look at the numbers. Of the indisputable fact, according to the department of labor, the Unemployment Rate of President Biden has remained below 4 for the longest time in 50 years. Thats a good economy. I also want to remind my colleagues that despite what the Committee Republicans may say, every Democratic Administration since president kennedy has left for their republican successors a better budget deficit situation than the one they inherited, and every republican Administration Since nixon left for their democratic successors a worse deficit situation than they inherited, without exception. And using every microeconomic metric, the economy does better when democrats are in charge. Todays hearing is an opportunity to set the record straight and tell the truth. President biden and acting secretary su have worked to support workers, businesses, and our economy. We will continue to focus on concrete solutions to put money back into workers pockets, keep workers healthy and safe on the job, ensure all workers can enjoy a dignified retirement, and protect children from being forced to work in illegal and dangerous conditions. To that end, Committee Democrats released a new report just yesterday entitled, a slap on the wrist how it pays for unscrupulous employers to take advantage of workers. The report details how employers feel emboldened to load violate labor laws because of weak or nonexistent civil monetary penalties. Monetary penalties are supposed to serve as a deterrent and hold employers accountable for labor law violations. However, today they have become, in some cases, the cost of doing business. In other cases, no sanctions at all. Later this month, the Committee Democrats will introduce legislation to responsibly increase these penalties to deter employers from violating workers rights. I hope my republican colleagues will put politics aside and work with us to deliver on these priorities. So, thank you, ms. Su, for your leadership and joining us today, and thank you and the department of labor for all you have done for the workers of america. Also, i want to thank you for being responsive to oversight requests made by our committee. We may hear that the department has that the committee has sent letters. Im delighted to know that you have responded to the majoritys 25 oversight letters, and that is how it should be. You should be making those responses. And i dont need to remind anybody, but i will. The Previous Administration was not nearly as responsive to congresss oversight requests as this one has been. In most cases, they just ignored our requests altogether. So, throughout the hearing, i hope we remain focused on what is most important, improving the lives of workers and their families. So, thank you acting secretary su, and madam secretary, i yield back. Dr. Foxx thank you, mr. Scott. Pursuant to Committee Rule 8c, all members who wish to insert written statements into the record may do so by submitting them to the Committee Clerk electronically in microsoft word format by 5 00 p. M. 14 days after the date of this hearing, which is may 15, 2024. And without objection, the hearing record will remain open for 14 days to allow such statements and other extraneous material referenced during the hearing to be submitted for the official hearing record. I now turn to the introduction of our witness. Today, we have as our witness acting secretary julie su from the u. S. Department of labor located in washington, d. C. We thank you for being here today and look forward to your testimony. Id like to remind the witness that we have read your written which will appear in full in the hearing record. Pursuant to Committee Practice i ask that you limit your oral presentation to a five minute summary of your written statement. I also want to remind the witness to be a aware of her responsibility to provide Accurate Information to the committee. I now recognize acting secretary su. Sec. Su chairwoman fox. Ranking member starts and members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on President Bidens fiscal year 2025 budget request for the department of labor. As the acting secretary of labor, i get to travel the country to meet with workers like maria. A single mom who was living paychecktopaycheck, worried about how she was going to get by. She went to her local social Services Office to apply for medicaid and s. N. A. P. Benefits and thats is where she saw a flyer or a jobTraining Program in the pipe trades. Today maria is in a good union job and she has quadrupled her income. What struck me about mariah was not just how much a good income meant to her, it was the pride she found him putting in hard days work in a hard days work and getting rewarded for it, and the pride she saw in her childrens eyes. It is undeniable. Good jobs change lives. Our 13. 9 billion budget request will help more people like mariah get good jobs that can support families lift up , communities, and bring the dignity and pride that are core to the American Dream. I want to frame our request under two priority areas. First, pathways to good jobs for all americas workers. I have met with thousands of workers like mariah who are in programs that work. Programs that exist because we have invested in them. That is why we are requesting investments to develop and expand proven models to connect workers to the good jobs they want and need and employers to the workers that they want and need. , for example, we are requesting a billion dollars for the carrier training fund. That investment would help as many as 750,000 people who do not see for your college as their path enroll in evidencebased highquality Training Programs for actual jobs in their communities. Workers can complete highquality programs dont end up with a job search. Date and end up with a good job. We also seek 335 million for Apprenticeship Programs. Registered apprenticeships provide training for the actual skills that employers need. They allow workers to earn while they learn and the increased job pathways for underrepresented groups including women, people of color, veterans, and individuals with disabilities. When i talk to Business Owners, many tell me that their top concern is recruiting and retaining workers. The investment in our budget requests are how congress and the department of labor can tap into the talents and skills of all of americas workers and make sure that the supply of skilled workers meet the demand right now and well into the future. The second priority i would like to highlight is the department of labors mission to protect workers including and especially those most vulnerable to exploitation. Too often, employers who hire 13yearolds to work in Hazardous Conditions failed to pay overtime for a 60hour workweeks or who put workers at risk of losing their names or even their lives on the job, do it because they believe they will get away with it. That no one will stop them. That they can operate in blatant disregard of the laws. That congress has not passed. Not on our watch. That is why we are requesting a modest but important increases further departments Worker Protection agencies because we cant do this vital work. Without dedicated public servants, the wage and hour investigators who combat child labor, the team that ensures work for this is safety hazards. The benefits advisors who answer the phone when panicked patients have been denied coverage for Mental Health services by their Health Insurance company. We are asking for 7. 5 million for additional staff to combat wage theft, child labor, and 22 Million Dollars to investigate high hazard workplaces, protect whistleblowers and give employers compliance assistance. And an additional 10. 7 million for my Solicitors Office which has been essentially fl funded for more than a decade. The president process requests would also help us advance were correct and promote a